Group 1 winning mare Beaded is kicking off her final campaign for trainer Peter Snowden at Warwick Farm tomorrow and will return to Brisbane for her swansong before being sent to the breeding barn.
The Lonhro mare secured her only Group 1 victory when narrowly beating Love Conquers All in last year’s $650,000 Carlton Mid Doomben 10,000 (1350m) at Doomben and Snowden is keen to return to Brisbane for the Winter Carnival.
Beaded hasn’t raced since finishing second in the Group 1 $500,000 Tatts Tiara at Eagle Farm on June 25 and is early $2.70 favourite for her return to racing in Group 2 $175,00 NSW Thoroughbred Breeders Classic (1200m).
Top Sydney jockey Corey Brown who partnered the six year old in her Doomben 10,000 win is back aboard tomorrow and Snowden said that he was very happy with the mare’s condition for her return to racing.
“I’ve never seen her looking as good as what she is now, she looks superb. She’s had two trials and she has had more work than she normally does,” Snowden said.
Darley Australia’s head trainer has the Group 1 $1m Lexus Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on March 10 on Beaded agenda but hasn’t mapped out a path for her return to Queensland.
“All being well she will run in the Newmarket in three weeks and then we will just see whether we come back to Sydney, go back to Adelaide or give her a break and wait until Brisbane,” Snowden said.
Darley Australia‘s general manager Henry Plumptre said that Beaded, with her Group 1 win and six Group 1 placings would be sent to stud this season but as of yet no stallion has been firmly booked. He said that Street Cry, the sir of Melbourne Cup winner Shocking and Exceed And Excel were high on the list.
“Being the sort of mare that she is, she’s not very big and it’s not a very big family, she’d probably end up going to a horse like Street Cry,” Plumptre said.
Beaded’s retirement was put back a year when Plumptre opted to give her another campaign when it became clear that champion mare Black Caviar would be heading overseas after a couple of runs in the Autumn.
“There was publicity around Black Caviar at the time that once she’d had a couple of runs in the Autumn in Australia she was off overseas and that cleared the playing field for us.”
“A mare like Beaded couldn’t beat Black Caviar, she probably couldn’t beat Hay List at his best, but there are races around and if you are opportunistic with a mare like that you can win them,” Plumptre said.
